Typewriter attachment



Dec. 29, 1931. w. A. TAYLOR TYPEWRITER ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 5, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet Invenior 127 4 511% A llorney Dec. 29, 1931. w. A. TAYLOR TYPEWRITER ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor A Home y Patented Dec. 29, 1931 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM ANDREW TAYLOR, OF ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA TYPE-WRITER ATTACHMENT Application filed November 5, 1930. Serial No. 493,625.

This invention relates generally to typewriters and more particularly to an attachment for typewriters having for its primary object to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, a signaling device for sounding an alarm whereby the operator of the typewriter will be warned that the end of the sheet of paper being written upon is approaching.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a typewriter attachment of the aforementioned character embodying novel means for rendering inoperative the signal actuating mechanism when inserting the sheet r of paper or when it is desired to shift or adjust the sheet of paper after the same has been inserted.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a typewriter attachment of the character described of a construction whereby the same may be mounted on a conventional typewriter without the necessity of materially altering said typewriter structurally.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a typewriter attachment which will be simple in construction, strong, durable, reliable in operation and which may be manufactured and installed at low cost.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken inconnecti on with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein Figure 1 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through a portion of a typewriter showing an attachment in accordance with 40 this invention mounted in position thereon.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through an upper rear perspective of a portion of a typewriter with a portion of the invention operatively mounted thereon.

Figure 3 is a view in top plan of the portions of a typewriter and this invention which are illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it .will be seen that the reference numeral 1 designates a portion of a typewriter frame of the usual construction upon which is mounted a slidable carriage which includes the platen 2 having an arcuate paper guide or shield 3 extending partially therearound in the usual manner. The reference numeral 4 designates a sheet of paper which is mounted in position in the typewriting machine and secured frictionally in position against the platen 2 by the usual tensioning means.

Adjacent its left end the platen 2 has formed circumferentially therein a groove or channel 5 and the paper guide or shield 3 has formed therein an opening or slot 6 which is in registry with the groove or channel 5. Rigidly mounted on the usual transversely extending bar 7 of the typewriter carriage is an upwardly and forwardly projecting bracket 8 having its upper end disposed beneath the forward portion of the paper guide or shield 3. An arcuate arm 9 is pivotally mounted on the free end of the bracket 8 and extends rearwardly and up wardly therefrom beneath the paper guide or shield 3 and has rotatably mounted on an intermediate portion thereof a roller 10 which is operable through the slot 6 in the paper shield or guide 3 for engagement on the sheet 4 and in the groove or channel 5 of the platen 2. The rear end of the arm 9 is operatively connected by a link 11 to the upper end of a lever 12 through an intermediate portion of which the rod 13 of the type writer carriage extends. The lever 12 is rockable on the shaft 13. It may be well to here state that the shaft 13 is substituted for the shaft which is usually provided on a conventional typewriter carriage, the shaft 13 being slightly longer than the usual shaft to receive the lever 13 and another essential element of this invention to be more fully hereinafter referrd to.

A bracket 14 is rigidly mounted on a lower portion of the typewriter frame through the medium of a depending apertured ear 15 through which a securing screw or the like 16 extends and the bracket 14'is provided with an upturned end portion 17 upon which is mounted a bell 18. A vertically disposed rotary shaft 19 has its lower end journaled in the other end portion of the bracket 14 and its upper end journaled in the upper portion of the frame 1. A striker 20 is fixed on a lower portion of the rotary shaft 19 for engagement with the bell 18. A sectional arm designated generally by the reference numeral 21 is fixed on an upper portion of the rotatable shaft 19 and extends laterally therefrom and projects through a horizontal slot 22 provided therefor in the upper portion of the typewriter frame 1. The arm 21 includes sections 23 and 24 which are pivotally connected together in a manner to provide a half hinged joint and said sections are yieldingly retained in longitudinal alignment with each other by a spring 25 which is mounted on the pivot pin 26 and having its opposite ends operatively engaged with the sections 23 and 24. The joint between the sections 23 and 24 is such as to permit swinging movement of the section 24 independently of the section 23 in one direction only from a position in longitudinal alignment with the section 23. The rotatable shaft 19 extends through an opening provided therefor in the arm section 23 and said arm section 23 is secured in position on the rotatable shaft 19 by a set screw or the like 27. A collar 28 is fixed on the rotatable shaft 19 and a coil spring 29 has one end secured to the collar 28 and its other end anchored to the typewriter frame for yieldingly retaining the shaft 19 against rotation in one direction. Another collar 30 is fixed on an upper portion of the rotatable shaft 19 and projecting therefrom is a pin 31 which is engageable with a stop lug 32 which depends from an upper portion of the frame 1 for positively limiting the rotary movement of the shaft 19 in the other direction.

A depending arm 33 is fixed on the rockable shaft 34 of the typewriter carriage which is equipped with the usual actuating lever 35 which is illustrated in broken lines. The rockable shaft 34 is operatively connected with the usual tensioning mechanism (not shown) which frictionally clamps the sheet of paper 4 against the platen 2. A lever 36 has one end provided with an eye 37 for swingably mounting the lever 36 on the shaft 13 of the typewriter carriage and the free end of said lever 36 has formed integrally thereon a hook or ofiset extension 38 for engagement with the upper edge or side of the arm 9 at an intermediate portion of said arm 9. An upstanding apertured ear 39 is formed integrally on the eye portion 37 of the lever 36 and extending slidably therethrough is a shank 40 on one end of a coil spring 41 which has its other end connected to the lower end portion of the arm 33. A head 42 is formed on the free end of the shank 40 for preventing withdrawal of said shank from the car 39.

A spring 43 has one end anchored to the bracket 8 and its other end engaged with the arm 9 in a manner to yieldingly urge said arm 9 upwardly to project the roller 10 through the slot 6 into engagement with the sheet of paper 4 and into the groove or channel 5 when the sheet of paper 4 has been fed past the slot 6. Suitable means such as collars or the like 44 may be provided for retaining the levers 12 and 26 in position on the shaft 13. As best seen in Figure 3 of the drawings the roller 10 is mounted on a pivot pin 45 which projects laterally from the arm 9.

In operation, the sheet of papers 4 bridges the groove or channel 5 in the platen 2 in a manner to prevent the roller 10 from entering the groove or channel. The roller 10 is yieldingly engaged with the sheet of paper 4 by the spring 43 which, as before stated, urges the arm 9 upwardly. As the sheet of paper 4 is fed through the machine and the end thereof is approached, said end passes the roller 10 and the spring 43 then swings the arm 9 upwardly, the roller 10 engaging in the groove or channel 5 of the platen 2. This upward movement of the arm 9, through the medium of the link 11, swings the lever 12 from the position indicated in full lines in Figure 1 of the drawings to the position indicated in broken lines in said Figure 1. As clearly seen, the free end of the section 24 of the arm 21 is in the path of the lower portion of the lever 12 when said lever 12 is in the broken line position and when the carriage of the typewriter, after completing a written line on the sheet "of paper 4, is returned to begin a new line the lever 12 engages the sectional. arm 21 and through the medium of sectional arm 21 rotates the vertical shaft 19 in a direction to swing the striker 20 away from the bell 18 against the tension of the coil spring 29. The swinging movement of the sectional arm 21 continues until the lever 12 passes said arm 21 when the spring 29 rapidly rotates the vertical shaft 19 in the opposite direction in a manner to cause the striker 20 to strike the bell 18. The collar 30 having the pin 31 mounted thereon is adjusted on the vertical shaft 19 to engage the stop member 32 when the striker 20 engages the bell 18. When the carriage of the typewriter again moves to the left in writing the next line on the sheet of paper 4 the lever 12 engages the sectional arm 21 and said sectional arm 21 breaks to permit the lever 12 to pass.

When the rockable shaft 34 of the typewriter carriage is actuated through the medium of the lever 35 for shifting the paper tensioning mechanism of the typewriter to inoperative position to facilitate insertion of the sheet of paper 4 or for adjusting said sheet of paper in the machine the arm 33 is actuated and slides the shank 40 of the spring 41 through the apertured ear 39 of the lever 36 untilthe head 42 on the shank 40 engages the ear 39 and the continued movement of the arm 33 will then swing the lever 36 downwardly and the lever 36, in turn, swings the arm 9 downwardly for disengaging the roller 10 from the sheet of paper 4 or for withdrawing the roller 10 from the groove or channel 5 in the platen 2. The shank 40 permits limited swinging movement of the lever 36 independently of the spring 41 and the arm 33 in, an upward direction with the arm 9 to permit the roller 10 to enter the groove or channel 5.

It is believed that the many advantages of a typewriter attachment in accordance with this invention will be readily understood, and although the preferred embodiment of the invention is as illustrated and described, it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction may be had which will fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is 1. In a typewriter having a supporting frame and a carriage slidable on the supporting frame, a rotatable platen on the carriage having a circumferential groove therein, said platen having the paper to be written upon traveling thereover and bridging the groove, an arm pivotally mounted on the carriage. a roller journaled on the arm for engagement with the paper and in the groove, the paper constituting means for preventing engage ment of the roller in the groove, resilient means for yieldingly urging the arm toward the platen, said means yieldingly retaining the roller against the paper, a bell mounted on the typewriter frame, a rotatable shaft on the typewriter frame, a striker fixed on the rotatable shaft for engagement with the bell, and means for actuating the rotatable shaft in a manner to cause the striker to strike the bell when the paper is moved past the roller and said roller moves into the groove, said means comprising a lever rockable on the typewriter carriage, a link operatively connecting the arm to the rockable lever, and an arm fixed on the rotatable shaft and projecting laterally therefrom and disposed in the path of the rockable lever for actuation thereby when the rockable lever is moved to operative position by the arm.

2. In a typewriter having a supporting frame and a carriage slidable on the supporting frame, a rotatable platen on the carriage having a circumferential groove therein, said platen having the paper to be written upon traveling thereover and bridging the groove, an arm pivotally mounted on the carriage, a roller journaled on the arm for engagement with the paper and in the groove, the paper constituting means for preventing engage ment of the roller in the groove, resilient means for yieldingly urging the arm toward the platen, said means yieldingly retaining the roller against the paper, a bell mounted on the typewriter frame, a rotatable shaft on the typewriter frame, a striker fixed on the ,path of the rockable lever for actuation thereby when the rockable lever is moved to operative position by the arm, said second named arm including a pair of sections hingedly connected together and normally disposed in longitudinal alignment with each other, resilient means yieldingly retaining the sections in alignment with each other, one of the sections adapted for engagement and actuation in one direction by the rockable lever independently of the other section.

3. In a typewriter having a supporting frame, and a carriage slidable on the supporting frame, a rotatable platen on the carriage having a circumferential groove therein, said platen having the paper to be written upon traveling thereover and bridging the groove, an arm pivotally mounted on the carriage, a roller journaled on the arm for engagement with the paper and in the groove. the paper constituting means for preventing engagement of the roller in the groove, resilient means for yieldingly urging the 'arm toward the platen, said means yieldingly retaining the roller against the paper, a bell mounted on the typewriter frame, a rotatable shaft on the typewriter frame, astriker fixed on the rotatable shaft for engagement with the bell, and means for actuating the rotatable shaft in a manner to cause the striker to strike the bell when the paper is moved past the roller and said roller moves into the groove, said means comprising 'alever rockable on the typewriter carriage, a link operatively connecting the arm to the rockable lever, and an arm fixed on the rotatable shaft and projecting laterally therefrom and disposed in the path of the rockable lever for actuation thereby when the rockable lever is moved to operative position by the arm, said second named arm including a pair of sections hingedly connected together and normally disposed in longitudinal alignment with each other, resilient means yieldingly retaining the sections in alignment with each other, one of the sections adapted for engagement and actuation in one direction by the rockable lever independently of the other section. said means adapted to actuate the rotatable shaft in one direction, a spring operatively connected to the rotatable shaft for actuating the same in the opposite direction, and coacting stop means on the rotatable shaft and the typewriter frame for limiting the rotary movement of the rotatable shaft under the impulse of the spring.

4. In a typewriter having a supporting frame and a carriage slidable on the frame, a rotatable platen on the carriage having a circumferential groove therein, the platen having the paper to be written upon traveling thereover and bridging the groove, an arm pivotally mounted on the carriage, a roller journaled on the arm for engagement with the paper and in the groove, the paper constituting means for preventing engagement of the roller in the groove, resilient means for yieldingly urging the arm toward the platen, a bell mounted on the typewriter frame, a striker engageable with the bell, means operatively connecting the striker to the arm for actuation by said arm when the paper fed past the roller and the said roller moves into the groove, and means for disengaging the roller from the paper comprising an arm mounted for swinging movement on the carriage, a lever pivotally mounted on the carriage and operatively engaged with the first named arm for swinging said first named arm away from the platen against the tension of the resilient means, and means operatively connecting the lever to the second named arm for actuation thereby, the last named means comprising an apertured ear on the lever, a coil spring having one end connected to the second named arm, a shank on the other end of the coil spring extending slidably through the ear, and a head on theiree end of the Shank engageable with the ear for yieldingly urging the lever in one direction, said lever adapted for swinging movement in the opposite direction with the first named arm independently of the coil spring and the second named arm.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM ANDREW? TAYLOR. 

